May 30, 2012
Classes are going very well at KaishinKai Dojo and the satellite schools. Enthusiasm for local, regional and national events is there. Unfortunately not all the students that would like to attend events can because of finances, but the enthusiasm is still contagious.
For my program at the Evergreen State College, it’s been a good school year. It’s been great being back at the college where we have a huge space to hold classes (it’s actually two large rooms adjoining), nice facilities and mats, and good support from the college.
The college has purchased new kick shields and striking mitts for our use, and we’ve been able to add a Saturday class for more practice time as well. While I teach the Tuesdays and Thursdays, Peter Barnhill (KaishinKai Shodan) has the opportunity of teaching the Saturday afternoon class.
Usually during the summer months we hold classes at our home dojo, but this summer we’ll be holding classes at the college. This gives more continuity to the program at the college, and also allows students without transportation to attend classes easier during the summer months. We still hold advanced classes for more senior kyu ranks once a month at our home dojo, as well as a black belt class once every month there, too.
We had a successful Regional Clinic on February 5th where instructors came from as far south as Salem, Oregon to teach a segment at the clinic. The regional events are held every other month and allow students to receive training from instructors other than from our school, so they receive valuable cross-training at the 4-hour events.
On April 17th we had the honor of celebrating Prof. Ron Jennings’ 50th year anniversary in Danzan Ryu Jujitsu. He taught a segment in class where he discussed the samurai and history of jujitsu. This was even more special because he attended in hakama complete with swords and tessen. Prof. also demonstrated a few techniques for the students. After class 18 of us went to Appleby’s to celebrate with food and drink and comraderie.
Our next Regional Event will be held Saturday, May 5th at Salem, Oregon. There the clinic will have a guest instructor from California from Jujitsu America.
We’re pleased to announce the following recent promotions from our KaishinKai schools.
At KaishinKai (Evergreen State College) - Sensei Sue Jennings:
At KaishinKai (Seattle University) - Sensei Chris Eller:
Congratulations to these individuals for their time on the mat and off to further them on their path in Danzan Ryu Jujitsu.
The next exciting events on the schedule for our students will be the much anticipated Ohana 2012 in Hawaii in July. Several students from our area will be attending and are greatly looking forward to the event. Then in September Jujitsu America has their convention in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It’s unknown at this time whether anyone will be able to attend that convention.
Next on the agenda for our region is Kamp KaishinKai which will be held on the property of Prof. Ron and Sensei Sue Jennings from August 10th through 12th. Students should bring a tent, or plan to sleep in the dojo for the 3-day event. One of the reasons this event is special is that it’s held in conjunction with the Perseid Meteor Showers that we can see from our property each night. This year the height of the stellar activity is supposed to be August 12th, so on Friday and Saturday nights we should have good viewing for the display. As there is for any event, there’s a lot of planning involved, so we hope we have good response from our students in the region. If anyone is interested in attending camp from a distance, we’d be pleased to have you attend and help you with arrangements to attend.
